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Awareness

The rising prevalence of diabetes in Asia demands effective strategies to combat and relieve the burden to health posed by this condition – now described as an epidemic. To this end, for the past 5 years the Diabetes in Asia conferences have brought together experts in diabetes-related fields, such as nutrition, nursing, education and endocrinology. These meetings serve to elevate the awareness of diabetes in Asia, promote preventative measures, and improve diabetes care. The fifth Diabetes in Asia conference was held in Karachi, Pakistan this year. Supported

On the occasion of the signing of the St Vincent Declaration in St Vincent, Italy in October 1989, representatives of diabetes organizations and government health departments from European countries agreed unanimously on key health objectives for people with diabetes. Five-year targets were incorporated within the framework of the Declaration, which effectively recognized that diabetes outcomes were measurable; European nations were thus challenged to improve standards of care.

World Diabetes Day 2000 focused on “Diabetes and Lifestyle in the New Millennium”. It was an occasion to (re)discover the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the ways in which to lead such a lifestyle. The impact of lifestyle on diabetes cannot be under-estimated and the theme in 2000 was the occasion to re-address this issue.

With the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web came the perfect medium to unite families who have children with diabetes. Highly interactive, always available, I realized that the World Wide Web is ideal for an online community. In July 1995, I created Children with Diabetes, childrenwithdiabetes.com, the world’s first website devoted to families with children with diabetes.

US President George W Bush received a letter that came straight to the point. “We urge you to support stem cell research.” This appeal did not waste words.
The signatories had already said and done enough that is meaningful: no less than eighty of the signatures were Nobel prize winners. Stem cell research promises help to numerous people affected by chronic diseases and illnesses. The supporting argument is that if the embryos are to be destroyed anyway, would it not be better if they could be used to save the chronically ill.

One cannot think of today’s world without computers and the internet. This is only natural – the internet alone creates immense opportunities for establishing and managing a global structure that could generate almost all known forms of human communication and cooperation and serve an unlimited number of users simultaneously. This article makes an attempt at showing the practical potential of the internet by looking at an existing structure.

In Issue 3 1999 of Diabetes Voice, Dr Ástrádur Hreidarsson of the Endocrinology and Diabetic Clinics at the National University Hospital in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, wrote about how diabetes care is managed in this sparsely populated country.
In the past two years, many further developments have taken place as a result of a close cooperation between the Icelandic Diabetes Association and the other Nordic countries.

How much time is necessary to learn about the important discoveries on the treament of diabetes? Nowadays, only a couple of minutes. This is the importance of internet to millions of people with diabetes all over the world. The internet has shortened all the distances, opening a new channel of communication.

Diabetes is spreading across the world at an epidemic rate. Since making a decision to increase its attention to advocacy in 1994, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has led numerous successful advocacy efforts. Providing information to policy makers is crucial. Nevertheless, even with the economic facts in hand, it remains important to use them in such a way that will bring about governmental action to support research and programmes aimed at conquering diabetes.

Over £5.2 billion a year – 9 percent of the entire National Health Service budget – is spent on diabetes and its complications in the UK. There is no doubt that diabetes is a significant health economic issue here, as it is elsewhere in the world. Although diabetes is not consistently high on the government’s priority list, Diabetes UK has been successful in forming a strong lobby, which is increasing in political weight.